TODAY we launch our third annual campaign to clean up the streets and parks of Worcester.

In conjunction with Worcester City Council the Take Pride campaign will encourage people to clean up their communities.

Our two previous campaigns have been hugely successful with hundreds of people taking part, dozens of grot spots cleaned up and tonnes of rubbish removed from the city’s streets.

In the latest weapon against litter two of the city council’s team of civil enforcement officers will take to the streets on mountain bikes, covering at least 20 miles during a single patrol, on the lookout for grot spots.

James Hughes and Anna Humphries will be on the lookout for people who drop litter, don’t clean up after their dogs or vandalise public property, especially in parks and streets close to schools and in residential areas.

They can ask people to clear up after themselves and, as a last resort, can issue on-the-spot fines of up to £80 as well as parking tickets.

Mr Hughes said: “It’s about educating people about what is acceptable and what is not.

"It’s amazing the number of people who think nothing of throwing a cigarette on the floor. They don’t consider who is going to pick it up.

"We will proactively go after the people who deserve the fines. If we can catch them in the act it will be great.”

Councillor Roger Knight, the council’s cabinet member for cleaner and greener, said: “The aim of this new enforcement initiative is to make Worcester cleaner and tidier.

“It will give officers the power to deal with multiple problems like illegal parking and incidents of dog fouling close to schools in one go.

"Littering our streets, parks and open spaces is socially unacceptable and spoils our environment, so by giving civil enforcement officers bikes we’re making it easier for them to respond swiftly to reports of problems.

“Issuing penalty fines is always a last resort, however, we will not fail to use them where people refuse to take responsibility for keeping Worcester clean and tidy.”

About 20 tonnes of litter is collected by the city council’s litter team every week.

The annual clean-up cost for this service alone is currently just under £1.25 million.

How you can take part

To report a city grot spot, tell your neighbourhood cleansing team what to target in your area or to find out more about arranging a community clean up, call the Worcestershire Hub on 01905 722233 or post a comment on Facebook at facebook.com/worcester

To tell us about your litter problems or if you’re organising a litter-pick contact us on 01905 742284 or e-mail nw@worcesternews.co.uk